The two most significant words of Miami’s disrupted start to the 2017 season came almost a year ago today, on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 6. Hurricane Irma, then a monster category 5 storm, the highest on Saffir-Simpson wind scale, was barreling through the Caribbean with life-threatening 180-mph winds and torrential rain. And it was bearing down on Miami. Dolphins second-year coach Adam Gase gathered his team in the auditorium and broke the news. The season opener against Tampa Bay is postponed; this is our bye week, and after that, it’s 16 straight.

“When he said that, ‘This is our bye week,’ ” left tackle Laremy Tunsil said with resignation, “I was like, ‘Oh, shit, here we go, 16 straight.’ And that’s what it was, 16 straight.”

A beleaguered Dolphins team that had recently lost two key starters to season-ending knee injuries — quarterback Ryan Tannehill and rookie middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan — was now losing one of the...